6 Ways Onboarding Keeps Your Company From Sucking

Today’s workplace moves at the speed of the Internet. From recruiting and hiring to assimilation, to bringing a new hire to full productivity, there are numerous chances for a new employee to get left behind, and end up leaving for better opportunity after only a short time of employment. You’ve got to provide them with the tools, education, and training they need to be productive from day one so that they can have a long and successful tenure with your company, and so that your organization can sustain as a business.

Onboarding: Not Just Paperwork

Even for the most seasoned executives, the first day on a new job can bring back those feelings of what it’s like to be the new kid on the first day of school. Excited, eager, and anxious, a new employee needs to have a framework that helps her understand what it takes to be successful within their her role. Good onboarding isn’t about paperwork (although that is important), it’s also about assimilation, and giving your newest staff member every opportunity to succeed.

Here is what a good onboarding program can do for you:

Attract and Retain Top Talent

With the majority of HR professionals dealing with a skills gap, finding qualified talent is a challenge all itself. KEEPING that talent is an even bigger challenge. 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they experienced great onboarding (source). When people know that your workforce is engaged, productive, and happy, then you’ll attract others who will want to work there!

Engagement

According to Gallup, only 32% of American workers are engaged, while only 13% of global workers are. Organizations with a standard onboarding process experience 50% greater new hire productivity. This productivity is directly related to an employee’s engagement that is usually bolstered by consistent communication, giving an employee real-time feedback on job performance, along with valuable training.

Culture

Without question, culture is key. Salary and perks can be easy to match for a candidate, however, the long-term difference in employment for most employees revolves around culture. A great culture, intentionally built to take care of employees will keep employees engaged and committed, even in the down times for an organization. A strong culture is the bedrock of innovation, resiliency, and retention. Onboarding helps develop and protect a strong culture by facilitating communication and even providing productivity metrics.

Leadership Development

Expectations are a big part of the onboarding process, and it’s a two-way street. It’s important for the new hire to understand what is expected of him, but it’s also important for the company to understand what your new employee wants long-term in his career. Does he want to reach leadership levels? If so, the onboarding process is the time to build the framework, trust, and communication process that will allow those types of leadership discussions going forward. Onboarding also helps track developmental progress and goals for an employee, with the potential to offer real-time feedback on an employee’s production value.

Profitability

Engage your employee, train her, and give her the tools she needs to grow. Keep her long-term, and of course you’re going to see her productivity increase the profitability of your business. According to Gallup, employees who were highly engaged with their company had 147% higher earnings per share than their competition. What else needs to be said about that?

Provides Feedback and Communication

An effective onboarding process provides a consistent platform of feedback and communication. When a new employee can discuss his struggles early on, whether it be with understanding expectations, or dealing with management issues, he is given a voice that can bring clarity and help to both him and the company. Honest feedback and communication allows everyone to move forward with clarity and commitment to the objectives at hand, instead of getting sidetracked by the issues that people are afraid to discuss.

An onboarding program can be your number one way to develop, grow, and sustain your business. For more information on how to build an onboarding program specific for your company, visit us at www.Essium.co. We’d love to help you develop a Stress-Free Onboarding experience.

David LaMontagne is the Manager of Core Technology at Essium, a premiere software company that has developed a revolutionary, customizable, onboarding compliance platform named PRYDE. Designed to give HR personnel a STRESS-FREE onboarding experience, PRYDE helps assimilate new employees and retain personnel long-term.